Forget Mars, cure the common cold!

God has a sense of humor!

I knew I was fighting a cold but I didn't expect to lose the battle so mercilessly. I had plans for today - modest, but plans nonetheless. I got up this morning thinking death sounded like a good idea. I went back and forth between the couch and the recliner, slept most of that time, and at 2:00 mustered the strength to go out and get the mail. We had an Executive Committee meeting tonight and I made it to and through that. And I'm now wasted for the effort.

In the interests of consumer education...
A couple of months ago my dr. ordered some lab tests. Don't know about yours, but at my dr.'s office I go from the examining room to the front desk where his receptionist (?) fills out the paperwork, including the lab order. In the past I've been sent to Sonora Quest Labs but this time the order was for Lab Corps. I didn't give it a lot of thought; figured the dr.'s office had switched for some reason.
Several weeks later we got the bill for the lab work, which should have been paid by our insurance company. Pam started making phone calls.
Bottom line: the receptionist grabbed the wrong form and sent me to the wrong lab, one not covered by our insurance. So the bill is ours to pay.
Did you know it's the patient's responsibility to go to providers covered by their insurance? I assumed I should do what the dr. said. Nope. Do what your insurance book says.
This is true regardless of the situation. So if you're taken away in an ambulance you need to tell the driver what hospital he/she should take you to so it's covered by your insurance. If you don't give instructions and you're taken to an out-of-network E.R. it's your tough luck. This is true even if you're unconscious when you're taken away. If it's a "life threatening situation" (guess who determines that!) your insurance will pay all but your deductible, which is probably about the same as your mortgage amount.
I'm thinking an ID bracelet with a list of covered hospitals and providers. It's going to be a pretty big bracelet but the alternative could mean the end of life as I know it.

Between "naps" I watched some of the French Open tennis tournament. I learned that the crushed red brick "clay" they play on is just a thin veneer over a solid surface. That made me wonder about the lines. They don't scuff, so I assume they aren't just white crushed brick. Or painted. But if they're solid and the same thickness as the layer of crushed brick it seems like they'd be a trip hazard if the brick dust didn't stay packed against them. Yesterday it was so windy, and so much crushed brick dust was getting blown away, that it was exposing the solid surface underneath. If the lines are solid, wouldn't that be a problem?
Inquiring minds want to know.

That's all my brain can handle tonight.